2of 2Tramaine Deshun Brock, a 28-year-old Santa Clara resident and cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers, was arrested for domestic violence. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock (26) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first half an NFL football game against the Houston Texans in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The one-sentence news release said more — far more — than the mountain of trite phrases, empty defenses and hollow pledges the 49ers have offered in the past.

“The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have released CB Tramaine Brock.”

That’s it. Immediate action.

Money, meet mouth. Walk, meet talk. Due process, as Jim Harbaugh used to howl to the masses? The 49ers aren’t a court of law. They are a workplace that demands a certain level of professional behavior. And getting violent with a woman is not acceptable.

Friday was the first test of the new 49ers regime, one that arrived two months ago professing the need for high character, for players who were also an asset to the community, for doing things the right way.

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 6: Tramaine Brock #26 of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the sideline prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi Stadium on October 6, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. The Cardinals defeated the 49ers 33-21. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

Photo: Michael Zagaris, Getty Images

But we’ve heard plenty of that before. “Winning with class,” blah-blah-blah. After a while it all sounded the same.

Because, in the past, the 49ers failed to back up their cliches. The team leads the league in arrests since 2012, with 15. The 49ers, under the leadership of Trent Baalke and Jed York, consistently looked the other way, always came up with some rationale to keep a player, often forced the head coach to answer the tough questions about team policy and procedure.

The 49ers created a culture of unaccountability. One in which players could be pretty sure they would get at least a second chance, and — if they were a big enough talent — a third, fourth or fifth chance. The 49ers coddled their criminal element, were viewed by advocacy groups who tried to work with them as uncooperative, and simply didn’t seem to give a damn if some of their players were a threat to the community.

Maybe that’s changed now.

Brock, 28, was arrested Thursday night in Santa Clara by police following up on reports of a domestic disturbance. They found a woman with visible injuries — reportedly marks on her neck. Brock was booked into the county jail and on Friday made bail and was released. Less than three hours later came the one-sentence notice that he had been released.

The cynic will say that general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan had reviewed tape and didn’t find Brock, who has spent his entire career with the 49ers, valuable enough to be worth the headache. That could be true. But the 49ers’ roster is extremely thin, and Brock started 31 games in the past two seasons. No matter what the bosses might have thought about his talent, they still don’t have any talent, of any level, to spare.

During the interview process, Lynch and Shanahan conducted some tests on the 49ers’ front office to see if they could trust it. Now, Lynch and Shanahan faced their own test to see if the public could trust them. They knew they couldn’t sweep this away or ignore it.

So after the sordid saga — of Aldon Smith and Ray McDonald and Bruce Miller and Ahmad Brooks and Chris Culliver — someone on the 49ers has finally suffered immediate consequences. No second chance. No hemming and hawing. No Baalke-like dismissal of the incident (or crasser yet, his private comments that trivialized some of the criminal behavior).

“We’re going to hold people accountable,” Shanahan said in his opening news conference.

And, at least for the moment, the new 49ers have given us tangible evidence to believe that. Something more than just empty words.

Born in San Francisco and raised in Marin County, Ann Killion has covered Bay Area sports for more than two decades. An award-winning columnist and a veteran of 11 Olympics, several World Cups and the Tour de France, Ann joined The Chronicle in 2012. Ann has worked for the San Jose Mercury News, the Los Angeles Times and Sports Illustrated. She is a New York Times best-selling author, having co-written "Solo: A Memoir of Hope" with soccer star Hope Solo,"Throw Like A Girl" with softball player Jennie Finch and two middle-grade books on soccer, “Champions of Women’s Soccer” and “Champions of Men’s Soccer.” She was named California Sportswriter of the Year in both 2014 and 2017. She has two children and lives in Mill Valley.